Kenneth W. Van Auken, a bond trader for
Cantor Fitzgerald who worked on the 105th floor of One World Trade
Center, was one of many people who didn’t come home on the evening of
September 11, 2001. After the plane
struck the building at 8:48 AM just a few floors below his office, he had time
to call and leave a message for his wife Lorie.“We’ve been hit by
something…I don’t know if I can get out…I love you very much…”These were the last words his family had from Ken.

Son of Warren G. Van Auken and Eleanor
Liland Van Auken, he spent his childhood and early years of marriage on Staten
Island. He and his wife have resided in East Brunswick for the past ten years.

Ken attended SUNY Cortlandt from 1972
to 1976, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. He met his
wife, Lorie Schafler Van Auken while attending college, and they married in
1985.

Ken was an attentive father who loved
his two children, Matthew, age 14, and Sarah, 12. He spent his time devoted to the affairs of his family,
whether helping Lorie in the garden, Sarah with a math problem, providing sound
advice to his son Matthew or one of his sisters,
or assisting his father with business concerns.

He was gifted in many ways – not only
as a bond trader, but also as a skilled carpenter who could build anything from
an idea. He was a man who was kind
to everyone, willing to give his time and his love to people, modest about his
many accomplishments, a faithful son, husband, father, brother, uncle and
friend.

Ken leaves his family with many happy
memories, the gifts of his handiwork, and greatest of all, the example of a good
man, which is a legacy for his children.Besides
his parents, wife, and two children, Kenneth is survived his sisters Karen Renzo
of Nutley, NJ and Janice Booth, of Glen Ridge, NJ, and also a brother-in-law,
Craig Booth, and two nieces, Natalie and Emily Barbato, all of the Glen Ridge
address.

A memorial service was held for Kenneth
on September 20th at Brunswick Funeral Home in East Brunswick, NJ and was
attended by hundreds of mourners from the large community of friends and family
whose lives had been touched by his warmth.

We will always love you, Kenny.We will never forget you. No one can ever replace you.May God hold you in His arms; and may you always rest in peace.

Eunice Peitz the daughter of Van and Edna Van Aken died in Colon,
Mich. on Oct.1, 2001. Eunice was born in 1910 in Coldwater, Mich. She is
interred at the Lakeside Cemetery in Colon, Mich
Oddly enough at the time of her death her nephew Franklin R. Van Aken (frog868@netzero.net)
was in Cadzand, Holland visiting the family village of the Van Aken
family.

In Memory of:

Web posted
Tuesday, October 2, 2001
Holland Sentinel, MI

Overisel Township firefighter Gail VanAuken pictured
during Fire Prevention Week at Bentheim Elementary School in Hamilton
about two weeks ago.

Photo courtesy of Bentheim Elementary School

Tribute to firefighters will remember local volunteer
Gail VanAuken among hundreds to be honored posthumously in Maryland

Three weeks after a terrorist attack on New York shed a media spotlight on
irefighters killed trying to save others, a national organization will pay
tribute to those who died in the line of duty during 2000 -- including Overisel
Township volunteer Gail VanAuken.

VanAuken, 41, was killed last November while racing to fight a fire at
a Salem Township turkey farm. VanAuken and her husband, Richard, both
Overisel first responders, were headed to the fire when the water tanker they
were riding in collided with a pickup truck. The tanker rolled over, killing
Gail and injuring Richard.

This weekend friends and family of 101 firefighters killed nationwide will
gather at Emmitsburg, Md., honoring the estimated 300 from the World Trade
Center attacks and others who risked their lives to serve a community.

President George W. Bush is expected to lead a ceremony at which Richard VanAuken,
Overisel Fire Chief Jim Mentzer, Overisel volunteers Tim Scholten, Ron Horsting
and Mike Jurries and the Rev. Jerry Alferink, Overisel's chaplain, will join
thousands of others in remembrance.

"It's going to be bittersweet," Mentzer said. "We're going to
act as the honor guard for Gail and pay our respects for everything she did and
that's great, but it's still hard to talk about and I don't think that's going
away soon."

Mentzer said the weekend's events will be very personal in light of the
Holland area's loss of VanAuken and of the national tragedy. VanAuken's
name will be engraved on a plaque and placed on a permanent memorial, Mentzer
said. The memorial is located at the National Fire Academy.

"I think because of what's occurred it's only going to be more
moving," Mentzer said. "There is no difference between Gail and the
others who died in the attacks. They all deserve the same recognition and Gail
earned this."

Richard VanAuken, who could not be reached Monday, will be presented
with an American flag in memory of his wife and be asked to place a red rose at
the national memorial site, Mentzer said.

Tim Scholten said Gail VanAuken would appreciate the tribute and be
pleased to see the men dressed in the uniforms, but the firefighter hopes he
doesn't have to wear it again.

"As far as I'm concerned these can sit in the closet and get
dusty," Scholten said. "But Gail always believed in the uniforms and
I'm honored to have the opportunity to pay our last respects."

Scholten said the ceremony may bring a degree of closure, but that he'll
never forget the four-year veteran firefighter who helped implement the
department's education program.

VanAuken is one of four Michigan firefighters who died last year in
the line of duty and who will be honored at the Maryland memorial service on
Sunday.

Ronald Haner, 61, a deputy chief of the Portage Fire Department, was killed
Dec. 18 of smoke inhalation while battling a fire in his own home.

David Maisano, 38, a volunteer captain of the Tri-Town Fire Department, died
April 8 after being hospitalized for injuries sustained in a fall from a fire
truck while securing ladders.

The final fallen firefighter honored is David Sutton, 27, of the Fraser
Department of Public Safety. Sutton died while trying to rescue an elderly woman
from an apartment building fire in March.

In Memory of:

Helen Van Aken Perry

Helen Van Aken Perry of San Clemente, California, died on October 10,
2001.A long-time resident of
Covina and West Covina, California, she founded Perry Employment Agency which
she built into one of the leading employment agencies in the San Gabriel Valley.Twenty years ago, she and her husband, Hillard (“Bud”) Perry moved to
San Clemente where they fulfilled their dream of living in a coastal town.Bud Perry died in 1989.

Born on August 5, 1923 in Ilion, New
York, Helen and her sister, Phyllis, were the daughters of George Farr Van Aken,
a businessman in New York City.During
the Depression her father returned with his family to his home town of
Jamesburg, New Jersey where he purchased and managed the family farm and engaged
in real estate other business activities.Helen,
a tenth-generation American on her paternal side, was a descendent of Marinus
and Pieternelle De Pre Van Aken who sailed from Cadzand, Holland to New
Netherlands (now New York State) in 1683 and settled in Esopus (later Kingston).Just prior to the Civil War, Helen’s great grandparents, John and Jane
Gulick Van Aken, settled in New Jersey along with her great uncleRev. Enoch Van Aken who studied at Rutgers University and Princeton
Seminary and later served for fifty years as pastor of the Bloomingdale Reformed
Church in New York City.Helen’s
mother, Flora Anderson Van Aken, was born in Scotland.

Helen
attended college at Cumberland University in Tennessee and, just after the
outbreak of World War II, married her first husband, Richard Anthony Tullis, and
moved to Southern California.During
the early years of the American occupation of Japan, Helen lived in Tokyo where
her husband worked as a government lawyer.They had one son, Richard.Following
a divorce, she married Thomas E. Sarazin with whom she had two daughters,
Charette and Antoinette.

Helen
was loved and admired by all those who knew her.Her funeral was held on November 10, 2001 and her ashes were
put to sea from the deck of the Helena.She
is survived by her son, Richard G. Tullis of San Rafael, California; two
daughters Charette Sarazin Larson of Lake Oswego, Oregon and Antoinette Sarazin
Criger of Kansas City, Kansas; a stepson, James L. Perry of Laguna Beach,
California; a stepdaughter, Susan Perry Crowe of Spokane, Washington; and six
grandchildren and one great grandchild.

John Sumner Van Aken and Gertrude Cowdery Van Aken

Mrs. Gertrude Cowdery Van Aken,
91, wife of Mr. John Sumner Van Aken and a long-time Bartlesville resident, died
at 3:50 a.m. on Saturday in the Jane Phillips Medical Center.

Funeral services for Mrs. Van
Aken will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday in the St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.
The Rev. Robert Evans and The Rev. Dr. T. Lee Stephens will officiate.
Dedication of the grave, committal prayers and interment will be directed in the
Memorial Park Cemetery by The Arnold Moore Funeral Service.

Memorials in Mrs. Van Aken’s
name have been established and may be sent to either the Jane Phillips Medical
center, Geriatrics Section, c/o Bluestem Regional Medical Foundation, 3400 E.
Frank Phillips Blvd., Bartlesville, Okla. 74006, or the Jane Phillips Hospice,
219 N. Virginia, Bartlesville, Okla. 74003.

Gertrude Cowdery Van Aken will
lie in state in the Drawing Rooms of The Arnold Moore Funeral Residence where
friends may call for their visitation until he is removed to the church for
final rites on Tuesday morning.

A native of Kansas, Gertrude
was born in Lyons on December 7, 1911. He was the son of the late Herman R. and
Blanche (Charles) Cowdery. John was reared and received her education in the
Lyons, Kansas Public Schools and was graduated Valedictorian of the Senior Class
of 1929 from the Lyons High School. She attended Kansas State University and was
graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science Degree in General Sciences.
Following her education, Gertrude
was a teacher in the Lyons Public Schools and taught the 5th and 6th
grades.She and John Sumner Van
Aken were united in marriage on December 12, 1936 at Lyons, Kansas, and they
made their first home there. In April 1937 the Van Aken family moved to
Bartlesville and Mr. Van Aken was employed with the National Zinc Company where
he served as the Plant Manager and was a Vice President and the manager of Gas
Field Operations.He was retired in
1982 and they have continued their residence living in retirement in
Bartlesville.

Mrs. Van Aken was a member of
the St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Phi Kappa Phi Scholastic Fraternity and the
Pi Beta Phi Social Fraternity.

Mr. John Sumner Van Aken, 91, a
Bartlesville resident since 1937and retired Vice President and Plant Manager of
the National Zinc Company, died at 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday in Bartlesville.

Funeral services for John
Sumner Van Aken will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday in the St. Luke Episcopal
Church. The Rev. Robert Evans and The Rev. Dr. T. Lee Stephens will be the
officiants. Dedication of the grave, committal prayers and interment will be
directed in the Memorial Park Cemetery by The Arnold Moore Funeral Service.

Memorials have been established
in memory of John, and those who wish may forward their gifts to either the St.
Luke Episcopal Church, 210 SE 9th St., Bartlesville, Okla. 74003, the Bluestem
Medical Foundation, 3500 S.E. Frank Phillips Blvd., Bartlesville, Okla. 74006 or
to the Continuous Care Centers Bartlesville, 3500 S.E. Frank Phillips, Four
Tower, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, 74006.

John Van Aken will lie in state
in the Drawing Rooms of The Arnold Moore Funeral Residence where friends may
call for their visitation until he is removed to the church for final rites on
Saturday.

A native of Kansas, John Sumner
Van Aken was born in Sterling on September 23, 1911. He was the son of the late
Harrison and Susan (Welch) Van Aken. John was reared and received his education
in the Lyons, Kansas community and was graduated with the Senior Class of 1929
from the Lyons High School. John attended Kansas State University and received
his Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry. He and the former Miss Gertrude
Cowdery were united in marriage on December 12, 1936 at Lyons, Kansas where they
made their first home. In April 1937 the Van Aken family moved to Bartlesville
and John began his employment with the National Zinc Company. He was employed
with the company as Vice President, Plant Manager and the manager of Gas Field
Operations until he was retired in 1982. Following his retirement he and Mrs.
Van Aken had continued their residence living in retirement. Mrs. Van Aken
preceded him in death on January 11, 2003 in Bartlesville.

Mr. Van Aken was a longtime
active member of the St. Luke Episcopal Church, a member of Beta Theta Pi Social
Fraternity, a past board member of the Jane Phillips Memorial Medical Center; a
past member of the board of directors of the First National Bank (now Arvest
Bank), a past board member and chairman of the Frank Phillips Foundation, past
Chairman of the Washington County Republican Party, past president of the YMCA,
a long time member of the Hillcrest Country Club and had served with various
other organizations in the Bartlesville community.

Surviving are two sons, Stephen
Michael and wife, Cheryl Van Aken, Bartlesville, and Mark and wife, Suzanne Van
Aken, Henderson, Nevada; a daughter, Mrs. Judy (Van Aken) and husband Geary
Taylor, Yorktown, Texas; a daughter-in-law, Mrs. Phyllis Van Aken, Ft. Worth,
Texas; a brother, Harrison, and his wife, Gayle Van Aken, Mesa Arizona; eight
grandchildren, John and M. E. Van Aken, Katherine and Scott Somich, David and
Dayna Van Aken, Todd and Laura Taylor, Van and Paige Taylor, Sara Jane Taylor,
Kelly and Stefanie Van Aken and Cory Van Aken; and five great grandchildren,
Reyann Taylor, Ashleigh and Abby Somich, and Morgan and Olivia Van Aken. In
addition to his father, mother and wife, he was preceded in death by a brother,
David Van Aken and a son, John C. Van Aken on January 19, 1975.